Once there was great metal band. They were pioneers of the sound. They became great and it seemed that they would always be putting out quality albums forever. Time went by and this band continued to produce solid music. Only one fateful year they were due to have a new album out. There was no reason to believe that it would not be as good as the previous releases. Yet it was released and the sounds that came out were truly terrifying to my poor unsuspecting ears. It was this album.
To add to my fears the band now looked like this.
Oh, the horror. My eyes! My ears!
One of the scariest times of my life.
Priest lost me around the time that the Defenders of the Faith tape came out, but Turbo was inexcusable. Even worse than their cover of Johnny B. Goode.
ReplyDeleteAbout 12 or 13 years ago, I worked briefly with Tom Allom who produced British Steel through Turbo. I told him every day how much I hated Turbo.
I always liked TURBO. I have nothing against albums like THE ULTIMATE SIN, CHANGE OF ADDRESS or DANGEROUS CHARM by SINNER. All with synthesizers that i realy liked because it gave to those albums something special. very good.
ReplyDeleteI saw Priest for the first time on that tour. I didn't have a problem with the album at the time. It wasn't until years later I went back and realized how bad it was. I actually thought Ram it Down was worse and still do. Except for the track Blood Red Skies but even that was heavy on the synth.
ReplyDeleteTurBLOW.
ReplyDeleteI admit to liking the title track, Locked In, and Out in the Cold. Are they my favorite Priest songs? hell no, but they are decent. I just hate the whole style overhaul and the fashion change associated with that album. "Priest...Live!" is still an awesome live video, even if it has some lame songs and clothing haha.
Turbo > Painkiller
ReplyDeleteBut that's not saying much. Priest's last good one for me was Point of Entry.
I too was extremely confused by this album and almost turned my back on Judas Priest forever when it was released.
ReplyDeleteImagine the taste of vomit that flooded my mouth when I realized "Turbo" was being danced to by 4th graders celebrating not shitting their pants at school or something...and hummed by old ladies as they read The Inquirer while at the check out line.
Now multiply that taste by 10 and that's how I felt when I saw the videos.
Priest is my favorite band of all time and I enjoy keyboards in my metal...but C'MON! This album (particularly the lyrics and disco beats) was so beneath them as a band...they must have wrote it in rehab.
Yep, it sounded like they heard ZZ Top's Eliminator, saw their sales and said "Let's try that synth stuff out!" - LAME. The highpoint for Priest in the 80s for me was Screaming For Vengeance. Overall, I still prefer the 70s output.
ReplyDeleteI was cracking up within seconds of this post
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